Showing posts with label Disintegration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Disintegration. Show all posts

Monday, June 3, 2024

Paste Magazine: Top 300 Albums

Paste Magazine:

The Top 300 Albums

Paste magazine launched in July 2002 as a print publication after first starting as a website in 1998. In 2010, they went back to being online only. They started with a focus on music, specifically adult alternative, indie rock, and Americana. They have since expanded to include focus on movies, TV, books, and more.

As explained on the Paste website: “For this list, we called on our entire writing cohort—including editors, staff writers, interns and freelancers far and wide—to send in their individual Top 20 lists. We then took those lists, along with editorial oversight, and compiled what we believe is a selection of music that represents what Paste believes is the best to have ever been recorded.”

Check out other publications and organizations’ best-of album lists here.

1. Stevie Wonder Songs in the Key of Life (1976)
2. The Cure Disintegration (1989)
3. Kate Bush Hounds of Love (1985)
4. Prince Sign ‘O’ the Times (1987)
5. The Beatles Abbey Road (1969)
6. OutKast Stankonia (2000)
7. Fishmans Long Season (1996)
8. Nina Simone Wild Is the Wind (1966)
9. Milton Nascimento & Lo Borges Clube da Esquina (1972)
10. The Beach Boys Pet Sounds (1966)

11. Public Enemy It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back (1988)
12. Miles Davis Bitches Brew (1970)
13. Marvin Gaye What’s Going On (1971)
14. Joni Mitchell Blue (1971)
15. Bruce Springsteen Born to Run (1975)
16. Janet Jackson The Velvet Rope (1997)
17. Funkadelic Maggot Brain (1971)
18. Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977)
19. Prince & the Revolution Purple Rain (soundtrack, 1984)
20. Wilco Yankee Hotel Foxtrot (2001)

21. Velvet Underground & Nico Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)
22. Kendrick Lamar To Pimp a Butterfly (2015)
23. The Clash London Calling (1979)
24. Sam Cooke Live at the Harlem Square Club (aka “One Night Stand”) (1963)
25. Talking Heads Remain in Light (1980)
26. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967)
27. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Electric Ladyland (1968)
28. Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)
29. Fiona Apple The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do (2012)
30. Bob Dylan Blood on the Tracks (1975)

31. Björk Post (1995)
32. Billie Holiday Lady in Satin (1958)
33. Carole King Tapestry (1971)
34. David Bowie The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1972)
35. John Coltrane A Love Supreme (1965)
36. Amy Winehouse Back to Black (2006)
37. The Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street (1972)
38. Sufjan Stevens Illinois (2005)
39. Neil Young On the Beach (1974)
40. Patti Smith Horses (1975)

41. The Replacements Tim (1985)
42. PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love (1995)
43. Cocteau Twins Heaven or Las Vegas (1990)
44. De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)
45. The Beatles Revolver (1966)
46. The Roots Things Fall Apart (1999)
47. Miles Davis Kind of Blue (1959)
48. Julee Cruise Floating into the Night (1989)
49. Frank Ocean Blond (2016)
50. Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison (live, 1968)

51. Novos Baianos Acabou Chorare (1972)
52. Joni Mitchell Hissing of Summer Lawns (1975)
53. R.E.M. Automatic for the People (1992)
54. Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang Clan (36 Chambers) (1993)
55. Beyoncé Lemonade (2016)
56. Stevie Wonder Innervisions (1973)
57. Pharoah Sanders Karma (1969)
58. Van Morrison Astral Weeks (1968)
59. The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die (1994)
60. Hole Live Through This (1994)

61. Lucinda Williams Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998)
62. The Beatles The Beatles (aka “The White Album”) (1968)
63. Hüsker Dü New Day Rising (1985)
64. Ray Charles Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music (1962)
65. Nirvana Nevermind (1991)
66. Michael Jackson Off the Wall (1979)
67. A Tribe Called Quest The Low End Theory (1991)
68. Aretha Franklin Lady Soul (1968)
69. Nas Illmatic (1994)
70. My Bloody Valentine Loveless (1991)

71. Madonna Like a Prayer (1989)
72. Kendrick Lamar Good Kid m.A.A.d. City (2012)
73. The Miracles Going to a Go-Go (1965)
74. Bob Dylan Blonde on Blonde (1966)
75. Little Richard Here’s Little Richard (1957)
76. The Replacements Let It Be (1984)
77. Erykah Badu Baduizm (1997)
78. Charles Mingus The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady (1963)
79. Black Sabbath Paranoid (1970)
80. Alice Coltrane Journey in Satchidananda (1971)

81. D’Angelo Voodoo (2000)
82. Radiohead In Rainbows (2007)
83. Pixies Surfer Rosa (1988)
84. Sophie Oil of Every Pearl's Un-Insides (2018)
85. Nina Simone I Put a Spell on You (1965)
86. Kanye West The Life of Pablo (2016)
87. Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique (1989)
88. Smashing Pumpkins Siamese Dream (1993)
89. Television Marquee Moon (1977)
90. The Stooges Raw Power (1973)

91. Otis Redding Otis Blue (1965)
92. Deerhunter Halcyon Digest (2010)
93. War The World Is a Ghetto (1972)
94. Sade Love Deluxe (1992)
95. Aphex Twin Selected Ambient Works Vol. 2 (1994)
96. Fleetwood Mac Tusk (1979)
97. Death Symbolic (1995)
98. Donna Summer Bad Girls (1979)
99. The Grateful Dead American Beauty (1970)
100. B.B. King Live at the Regal (live, recorded 1964, released 1965)

101. Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water (1970)
102. Prince 1999 (1982)
103. Sunn O))) Black One (2005)
104. Bruce Springsteen The River (1980)
105. Paul & Linda McCartney Ram (1971)
106. N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton (1989)
107. Dilla, J. Donuts (2006)
108. This Heat Deceit (1981)
109. Sleater-Kinney Dig Me Out (1997)
110. The Smiths The Queen Is Dead (1986)

111. Godspeed You! Black Emperor Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennae to Heaven (2000)
112. Mariah Carey Music Box (1993)
113. Madvillain Madvillainy (2004)
114. System of a Down Toxicity (2001)
115. Lou Reed Transformer (1972)
116. Dr. Dre The Chronic (1992)
117. Willie Nelson Red Headed Stranger (1975)
118. The Jimi Hendrix Experience Are You Experienced? (1967)
119. Sonic Youth Daydream Nation (1988)
120. Fugees The Score (1996)

121. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982)
122. The Breeders Last Splash (1993)
123. Ramones Ramones (1976)
124. R.E.M. Murmur (1983)
125. Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon (1973)
126. Daft Punk Discovery (2001)
127. David Bowie Low (1977)
128. The Beatles Rubber Soul (1965)
129. Minutemen Double Nickels on the Dime (1984)
130. Herbie Hancock Head Hunters (1973)

131. George Michael Faith (1987)
132. PJ Harvey Rid of Me (1993)
133. Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti (1975)
134. Ellott Smith Either/Or (1997)
135. Tatsuro Yamashita For You (1982)
136. Metallica Master of Puppets (1986)
137. James Brown Live at the Apollo Volume 1 (live, 1962)
138. Sparks No. 1 in Heaven (1979)
139. Gang of Four Entertainment! (1979)
140. Spiritualized Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space (1997)

141. Eric Dolphy Out to Lunch! (1964)
142. Boris Pink (2005)
143. Björk Homogenic (1997)
144. Paul Simon Graceland (1986)
145. Belle & Sebastian If You’re Feeling Sinister (1996)
146. Jay-Z Reasonable Doubt (1996)
147. Madonna Erotica (1992)
148. Boards of Canada Music Has the Right to Children (1998)
149. Frank Ocean Channel Orange (2012)
150. Radiohead OK Computer (1997)

151. Lana Del Rey Norman Fucking Rockwell! ( (2019)
152. Slowdive Souvlaki (1993)
153. Fishmans Kuuchuu Camp (1996)
154. Jason Isbell Southeastern (2013)
155. The Dismemberment Plan Emergency & I (1999)
156. Dusty Springfield Dusty in Memphis (1969)
157. Sly & the Family Stone There’s a Riot Goin’ On (1971)
158. Waylon Jennings Dreaming My Dreams (1975)
159. Van Halen Van Halen (1978)
160. Gillian Welch Time (The Revelator) (2001)

161. Oasis Definitely Maybe (1994)
162. Kanye West My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)
163. The Pixies Doolittle (1989)
164. Aretha Franklin I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (1967)
165. Neil Young & Crazy Horse Rust Never Sleeps (1979)
166. Death Cab for Cutie Transatlanticism (2003)
167. X-Ray Spex Germ-Free Adolescents (1978)
168. Marvin Gaye I Want You (1976)
169. Talking Heads Fear of Music (1979)
170. Guns N’ Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987)

171. Taylor Swift Red (2012)
172. Neutral Milk Hotel In the Aeroplane Over the Sea (1998)
173. Public Image Ltd. Metal Box (aka “Second Edition”) (1979)
174. Genius/GZA Liquid Swords (1995)
175. Swans Soundtracks for the Blind (1996)
176. Nick Drake Pink Moon (1972)
177. Kacey Musgraves Golden Hour (2018)
178. Yo La Tengo And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out (2000)
179. Angelo Badalamenti Twin Peaks (ST) (1990)
180. Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott Supa Dupa Fly (1997)

181. John Prine John Prine (1971)
182. The Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers (1971)
183. The Ronettes Presenting the Fabulous Ronettes Featuring Veronica (1964)
184. The Strokes Is This It (2001)
185. Beyoncé Beyoncé (2013)
186. Sufjan Stevens Carrie & Lowell (2015)
187. Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP (2000)
188. Kate Bush The Dreaming (1982)
189. The Microphones The Glow Pt. 2 (2001)
190. Pavement Slanted and Enchanted (1992)

191. TLC Crazy Sexy Cool (1994)
192. Dinosaur Jr. You’re Living All Over Me (1987)
193. Fiona Apple Fetch the Bolt Cutters (2020)
194. The Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground (1969)
195. Vince Staples Big Fish Theory (2017)
196. Rush Moving Pictures (1981)
197. Slayer Reign in Blood (1986)
198. Various Artists Buena Vista Social Club (1997)
199. The War on Drugs Lost in the Dream (2014)
200. Massive Attack Blue Lines (1991)

201. Danger Mouse The Grey Album (2001)
202. Built to Spill Perfect from Now On (1997)
203. Leonard Cohen The Songs of Leonard Cohen (1967)
204. Janelle Monáe Dirty Computer (2018)
205. Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band Trout Mask Replica (1969)
206. American Football American Football (1999)
207. Tom Waits Rain Dogs (1985)
208. Joni Mitchell Court and Spark (1974)
209. The Stooges Fun House (1970)
210. The Blue Nile Hats (1989)

211. Fugazi Repeater (1990)
212. Grace Jones Nightclubbing (1981)
213. Lil Wayne Tha Carter III (2008)
214. Joanna Newsom Ys (2006)
215. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971)
216. Magnetic Fields 69 Love Songs (1999)
217. Liz Phair Exile in Guyville (1993)
218. The Band Music from Big Pink (1968)
219. Jeff Buckley Grace (1994)
220. Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

221. The Supremes Where Did Our Love Go? (1964)
222. The Cure Pornography (1982)
223. Bruce Springsteen Nebraska (1982)
224. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987)
225. Curtis Mayfield Superfly (soundtrack, 1972)
226. Solange A Seat at the Table (2016)
227. The Germs GI (1979)
228. The Avalanches Since I Left You (2000)
229. Beck Odelay (1996)
230. Carly Rae Jepsen Emotion (2015)

231. Ornette Coleman The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959)
232. Portishead Dummy (1994)
233. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Déjà Vu (1970)
234. D’Angelo & the Vanguard Black Messiah (2014)
235. Aretha Franklin Amazing Grace (1972)
236. Joy Division Unknown Pleasures (1979)
237. Danny Brown Atrocity Exhibition (2016)
238. Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973)
239. The Mountain Goats The Sunset Tree (2005)
240. Lady Gaga The Fame Monster (2009)

241. Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols (1977)
242. The Promise Ring Nothing Feels Good (1997)
243. Alice Coltrane Turiya Sings (1982)
244. Four Tet There Is Love in You (2010)
245. Eric B. & Rakim Paid in Full (1987)
246. LCD Soundsystem Sound of Silver (2007)
247. The Shangri-La's Leader of the Pack (1965)
248. Steely Dan Aja (1977)
249. Joni Mitchell Hejira (1976)
250. Burial Untrue (2007)

251. Popol Vuh Hosianna Mantra (1972)
252. Lorde Melodrama (2017)
253. George Jones I Am What I Am (1972)
254. Nico The Marble Index (1969)
255. Cyndi Lauper She’s So Unusual (1983)
256. Marty Robbins Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs (1959)
257. OutKast Aquemini (1998)
258. Janet Jackson Control (1986)
259. The Byrds Sweetheart of the Rodeo (1968)
260. PJ Harvey Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000)

261. The Meters Rejuvenation (1974)
262. Silver Jews American Water (1998)
263. Alvvays Blue Rev (2022)
264. Stars of the Lid The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid (2001)
265. Thin Lizzy Jailbreak (1976)
266. Mahmoud Ahmed Éthiopiques Vol 7: Erè Mèla Mèla (1975)
267. Dolly Parton Coat of Many Colors (1971)
268. Tom Petty Wildflowers (1994)
269. Fiona Apple When the Pawn… (1999)
270. Mississippi John Hurt Today! (1966)

271. Wire Chairs Missing (1978)
272. Blondie Parallel Lines (1978)
273. Neil Young After the Gold Rush (1970)
274. Songs: Ohia Magnolia Electric Co. (2003)
275. Kraftwerk Die Mensch Maschine (The Man Machine) (1978)
276. Vampire Weekend Modern Vampires of the City (2013)
277. Pulp Different Class (1995)
278. Hiroshi Yoshimura Music for Nine Post Cards (1982)
279. Robyn Body Talk (2010)
280. Townes Van Zandt The Late Great Townes Van Zandt (1972)

281. Shin Joong Hyun & Yup Juns Shin Joong Hyun & Yup Juns (1974)
282. Brian Eno Another Green World (1975)
283. Bob Marley & the Wailers Burnin’ (1973)
284. Talk Talk Laughing Stock (1991)
285. Lil' Kim Hard Core (1996)
286. The KLF Chill Out (1990)
287. Bonnie “Prince” Billy I See a Darkness (1999)
288. The Who Tommy (1969)
289. Britney Spears …Baby One More Time (1999)
290. The Fall Wonderful and Frightening World of... (1984)

291. Camarón La Leyenda del Tiempo (1979)
292. David Bowie Scary Monsters (1980)
293. Ice Cube AmeriKKKas Most Wanted (1990)
294. Deulgukhwa March (1985)
295. Bad Brains Bad Brains (1982)
296. The Raincoats The Raincoats (1979)
297. Terry Riley A Rainbow in Curved Air (1968)
298. Queen Jazz (1978)
299. Rihanna Anti (2016)
300. Modest Mouse The Lonesome Crowded West (1997)

Resources and Related Links:

First posted 6/3/2024; last updated 6/6/2024.

 
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Wednesday, November 7, 2001

The Cure: A Retrospective (1976-2001)

The Cure

A Retrospective: 1976-2001

Overview:

Goth-rock group formed in Crawley, West Sussex, England in 1976. Originally called Malice and then The Easy Cure. Only lead singer Robert Smith has remained a constant through every incarnation of the band.

The Players

Links

Awards

Compilations

Spotify Playlist

Here’s my The Cure 1978-2025 playlist at Spotify which includes all songs featured on the above compilations plus other singles and material released after 2001.

Songs featured on any of the above anthologies are detailed below. Click for codes to charts.

Killing an Arab

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey, Lol Tolhurst

Recorded: 9/20/1978 at Morgan Studios in London, England

Released: 12/22/1978 (single), Boys Don’t Cry (compilation, 1980), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986)

B-Side: “10:15 Saturday Night”

Peak: 22 CL, 9 CO, 8 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.21 video, 1.43 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

“Stark, minimalist, and hugely energetic, ‘Killing an Arab’ marked the start of the Cure’s extraordinary career.” TB-180 The group’s first single and its B-side (“10:15 Saturday Night”) “displayed a unique talent for songwriting, which was literate and whimsical.” TB-112

“Although it failed to chart, it plunged them into a worldwide debate about whether or not its lyric was racist.” TB-180 Robert was “horrified by the interpretation of racism,” TB-180 saying, “It was a short poetic attempt at condensing my impression of the key moments” TB-180 in The Stranger by Albert Camus.

10:15 Saturday Night

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Michael Dempsey, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 12/22/1978 (B-side of “Killing an Arab”), June 1979 (single – France), Three Imaginary Boys (1979), Boys Don’t Cry (compilation, 1980), Standing on a Beach (compilation – CD version, 1986)

Peak: 35 CL, 30 CO, 27 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.23 video, 30.95 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

On this B-side to their debut single, “Killing an Arab,” The Cure are found “taking a standard form and subverting it into something new and a little uncomfortable. The rousing jangle of Creedence Clearwater Revival is filtered through a very English perspective to become something stark and functional, a depiction of quiet teenage confusion.” MD-11

Author Dave Thompson described the song as thus: “Another night at home with your cloying claustrophobia, listening to the tap drip…drip…dripping.” DT-190 Robert himself explained, “I’d fallen out with someone I was supposed to be going out with…so the evening fell apart and I decided to stay home and feel sorry for myself.” MD-11

Boys Don’t Cry

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst, Michael Dempsey

Recorded: 1979

Released: 6/12/1979 (single), Boys Don’t Cry (compilation, 1980), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Plastic Passion”

Peak: 18 CL, 1 CO, 22 UK, 8 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 165.60 video, 1330.34 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

“The Cure’s second single presents a melodic sensibility that the first only hinted at.” MD-16 It has become “a cult anthem.” MD-16 “It’s a simple but devastatingly effective pop song about the expectation of men to repress emotion – a theme Robert tackled repeatedly in that period, his narrators often revealing turmoil behind the blank masks they present to the world.” MD-16

Jumping Someone Else’s Train

The Cure

Writer(s): Michael Dempsey, Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst

Recorded: 1979

Released: 11/2/1979 (single), Boys Don’t Cry (compilation, 1980), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986)

B-Side: “I’m Cold”

Peak: 44 CL, 12 CO Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.83 video, 32.73 streaming

About the Song

“Jumping Someone Else’s Train” finds bassist Michael Dempsey “in fine form, propelling the song with a series of busy melodies that also highlight why he had to go: Robert’s songs were growing increasingly sparse, and Michael didn’t like what he was hearing. The lyrics…take aim at trend-hoppers, giving advance notice that The Cure’s own somewhat faddish sound was about to mutate into something less palatable.” MD-17

A Forest

The Cure

Writer(s): Simon Gallup, Robert Smith, Matthieu Hartley, Lol Tolhurst

Recorded: January 1980

Released: 4/8/1980 (single), Seventeen Seconds (1980), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Another Journey by Train”

Peak: 19 CL, 3 CO, 31 UK, 27 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 42.08 video, 10.39 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

“A Forest” was a “defining moment for the young band,” MD-23 “an outstanding composition that the band play at almost every concert.” MD-23 “The lyrics play out like a dream – and they probably were.” MD-24 Robert initially asserted the song was based on a childhood experience, but later said he made it up.” MD-24

A review in Sounds magazine described the song as “The Cure take a trip to the BBC Radiophonic Workshop in search of Dr. Who and find the ghost of Hawkwind.” MD-24

Play for Today

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst, Simon Gallup, Matthieu Hartley

Released: Seventeen Seconds (1980), Standing on a Beach (compilation – CD version, 1986)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.11 video, 48.44 streaming

About the Song

“Play for Today” was one of the first songs written for the Seventeen Seconds album. “The title, a reference to the BBC TV anthology series, was apt given the song’s soap opera dramatics: here, we have another of Robert’s detached dismissals, full of cold sentiments…as his sullen character brushes off a crying lover.” MD-22 Robert said the song was about “the fraudulent aspects of an insincere relationship.” MD-22

The song “introduces itself with the splash of an electric cymbal over Lol’s flat, dry drums before Simon’s spiky bass brings the beat to life under a delicate curtain of guitar harmonics. Then Robert’s distinctive rhythm style, making liberal use of stuttering 16th-note strums and open strings around the chords, ushers the song into a prime phase as Matthieu plays a simple but engaging melody.” MD-22

Primary

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 3/28/1981 (single), Faith (1981), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986)

B-Side: “Descent”

Peak: 40 CL, 7 CO, 43 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 7.90 video, 20.61 streaming

About the Song

The first attempt of this song was known as “Cold Colours” and featured “markedly different lead melodies and lyrics.” MD-30 “The finished cut is stronger, faster, leaner, and its distinctive sound – both Simon and Robert playing bass, no guitars, or keyboards – is a breath of fresh air. The lyrics address childhood innocence and the effects of its loss.” MD-30 “The song title refers to the colours mentioned in the song: red, yellow, and blue, the bright shades of childhood as yet uncomplicated by the deepening shades of experience.” MD-30

Other Voices

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst, Simon Gallup

Released: Faith (1981), Standing on a Beach (compilation – CD version, 1986)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2.25 video, 5.96 streaming

About the Song

“Built around Lol’s unchanging drum pattern and double-tracked, stereo-panned bass, ‘Other Voices’ is as close as Faith got to a second single.” MD-30 “The lyrics, possibly inspired by Truman Capote’s Other Voices, Other Rooms and George Orwell’s Keep the Aspidistra Flying, are typically tortured – though there’s a sardonic humor at work when Robert sings.” MD-30

Charlotte Sometimes

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst

Recorded: July 16-17, 1981 at Playground Studio in England

Released: 10/9/1981 (single), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986)

B-Side: “Splintered in Her Head”

Peak: 41 CL, 14 CO, 44 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 9.70 video, 28.65 streaming

About the Song

“As monumental as Faith is, it’s not exactly bursting with pop appeal.” MD-34 The next single, “Charlotte Sometimes,” “is more approachable…though its misty vibe is very much in keeping with the preceding record. They keyboards and yearning vocals inspire that special…feeling upon which The Cure have essentially built their career: part wistfulness, part doleful empathy, part…nostalgia for things that never were.” MD-34

Robert’s lyrics “explicitly reference lines and scenes” MD-34 from the 1969 book Charlotte Sometimes by Penelope Farmer. The character of Charlotte Makepeace “falls asleep at her boarding school and wakes up in the same bed some 40 years prior.” MD-34

The Hanging Garden

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 7/12/1982 (single), Pornography (1982), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986)

B-Side: “Killing an Arab” (live), “A Forest” (live)

Peak: 19 CO, 34 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2.50 video, 13.15 streaming

About the Song

“The December 1981 demo of ‘The Hanging Garden’ reveals a standard Cure jangle with alternative lyrics and an entirely different feel. The album version has been rethought from top to bottom, built on multi-tracked tribal tom-toms and juddering bass, the guitar relegated to playing a flanged hook as reversed piano swells and effects dart across the surface of the mix like black birds. Its strange and visceral.” MD-39-40

Let’s Go to Bed

The Cure

Writer(s): Laurence Tolhurst, Robert Smith

Released: 11/15/1982 (single), Japanese Whispers (compilation, 1983), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Just One Kiss”

Peak: 4 CO, 44 UK, 9 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 7.30 video, 60.29 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

“The Cure’s first single following the collapse of their previous iteration was released a mere seven months after Pornography, and a more drastic tonal shift can scarcely be imagined.” MD-46 Smith even considered releasing the song under the name Recur “to separate it from his past.” MD-46

“Let’s Go to Bed” “proves an irresistible piece of knowingly daft pop, the implied salaciousness of its title undercut by the atypical innocence of its lyrics.” MD-46

The Walk

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst

Released: June 1983 (single), Japanese Whispers (compilation, 1983), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986)

B-Side: “The Dream,” “The Upstairs Room,” “Lament”

Peak: 13 CO, 12 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.50 video, 27.79 streaming

About the Song

“’The Walk’ was a radio hit, but controversy developed when critics found it too similar to New Order’s ‘Blue Monday,’ which had dropped just one month prior.” MD-48 Of the song’s success, Smith said, “I didn’t expect it to get so high but I’d suspected something was up when my mum liked it.” MD-48

The Love Cats

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith

Recorded: August 1983

Released: 10/21/1983 (single), Japanese Whispers (compilation, 1983), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Speak My Language,” “Mr. Pink Eyes”

Peak: 3 CO, 7 UK, 8 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 23.85 video, 131.76 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

Robert said this song “was inspired by a line in a book he was reading, where a sackful of kittens is thrown into the sea. But the song quickly escaped that ghastly imagery to become one of the most wonderfully, wonderfully, wonderfully, wonderfully pretty hits of the 1980s.” DT-200

The Caterpillar

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 3/26/1984 (single), The Top (1984), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Happy the Man,” “Throw Your Foot”

Peak: 15 CO, 14 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 9.70 video, 14.96 streaming

About the Song

“When ‘The Caterpillar’ appeared a month ahead of its parent album, fans could be forgiven for thinking that business was continuing as per the new usual. It certainly sounds of a piece with the Fantasy Trilogy, what with all the catchy doo-doo-doo’s and eccentric instrumentation.” MD-55

In Between Days

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith

Recorded: 1985

Released: 7/19/1985 (single), The Head on the Door (1985), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “The Exploding Boy,” “A Few Hours After This…”

Peak: 99 BB, 1 CO, 15 UK, 10 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 59.99 video, 277.58 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

On this “instantly iconic Cure hit” MD-60 “the upbeat music is contrasted by Robert’s typically downbeat lyrics” MD-60 “yet the song never falls into doldrums performing a delicate balancing act with absolute aplomb. It’s one of Robert’s extroverted songs for introverts, playing off both extremes of his personality and melding them to devastating effect.” MD-60

Some accused the band of plagiarizing “Dreams Never End” by New Order. Peter Hook, the bassist of New Order, said, “Plenty of people have ripped us off…but the Cure really take the piss sometimes.” MD-60

Close to Me

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith

Released: 9/13/1985 (single), The Head on the Door (1985), Standing on a Beach (compilation, 1986); remix: 10/22/1990 (single), Mixed Up (1990), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “A Man Inside My Mouth,” “Stop Dead” (9/13/1985); “Just Like Heaven” (dizzy mix) (10/22/1990 remix)

Peak: 97 BB, 64 CB, 1 CO, 13 UK, 12 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 69.20 video, 468.78 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

Robert “Smith struggled with his success through career defeating albums and years of drug and alcohol abuse.” TC-79 However, “in early 1985, Smith resolved to get happy. In two weeks he wrote a new album, Head on the Door. It was recorded with an unashamed delight for hooks and catchy melodies.” TC-79

Smith said, “I think the Cure really started again at this point…It felt like being in the Beatles – and I wanted to make substantial ‘Strawberry Fields’-style pop music. I wanted everything to be really catchy.” TB-79

A Night Like This

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith

Released: The Head on the Door (1985), Standing on a Beach (compilation – CD version, 1986)

Peak: 17 CO Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.75 video, 43.33 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

“Stepping sharply away from the Gothic Rock tag that hung round their neck in the earliest years, Robert Smith and the Cure look at love and declare, just like the song says, that it’s just the most gorgeously stupid thing.” DT-157

Standing on a Beach/Staring at the Sea (compilation)

The Cure

Recorded: 1978-1985

Released: May 15, 1986

Peak: 48 US, 4 UK, 48 CN, 13 AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.10 UK, 4.0 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: goth rock

Rating:

4.538 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

(1) Killing an Arab (2) 10:15 Saturday Night * (3) Boys Don’t Cry (4) Jumping Someone Else’s Train (5) A Forest (6) Play for Today * (7) Primary (8) Other Voices * (9) Charlotte Sometimes (10) The Hanging Garden (11) Let’s Go to Bed (12) The Walk (13) The Love Cats (14) The Caterpillar (15) In Between Days (16) Close to Me (17) A Night Like This *

* CD edition

Total Running Time: 60:40

About the Album:

This is an excellent compilation of The Cure’s music in the early part of their career, covering singles and a few album cuts over their first six albums.

Why Can’t I Be You?

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 4/6/1987 (single), Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “A Japanese Dream”

Peak: 54 BB, 47 CB, 2 CO, 21 UK, 6 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 7.27 video, 64.64 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

The lead single from Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me “promised poppy delights in the vein of the previous album.” MD-71 “Driven by a 1960s pop beat, inspired by Porl and Robert messing around with either The Supremes’ ‘Can’t Hurry Love’ or The Chiffons’ Sweet Talkin’ Guy’…‘Why Can’t I Be You?’ revels in layers of funky guitars and parping synth-brass keys as Roberts mugs and capers in delirious devotion.” MD-71

Robert said the song came about because of a desire to, as he said, “escape discreetly from myself and just leave my empty body.” MD-71

Catch

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith

Released: 6/22/1987 (single), Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987), Galore! (compilation, 1997)

B-Side: “Breathe,” “A Chain of Flowers”

Peak: 17 CO, 27 UK, 35 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.48 video, 19.47 streaming

About the Song

“’Catch’ unfurls its gentle pop charms in a gentle haze of violin keys and vocal scatting. Two verses, two choruses and we’re out, with only a delicate guitar solo to break up Robert’s wistful reminisces of a recalcitrant girl.” MD-70

The song was inspired by two very different experiences. The first was “a scene from Rocky II between the titular boxer and his comatose wife.” MD-70 The second was about “Robert suffering a head injury as a child, hallucinating a girl called Bunny for a few years, then meeting her spitting image at JFK airport in 1984!” MD-70

Just Like Heaven

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams, Lol Tolhurst (see lyrics here)

Recorded: 1987 at Studio Marval in France

Released: 10/5/1987 (single), Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Snow in Summer,” “Sugar Girl,” “Breathe,” “A Chain of Flowers”

Peak: 40 BB, 42 CB, 33 GR, 30 RR, 1 CO, 29 UK, 89 AU, 6 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.4 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 32.74 video, 301.29 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

The Cure emerged during the punk era of the late ‘70s and became a mainstay of the college rock radio movement of the early 1980s in the United States. When they released their 1987 album Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, The Cure were on the cusp of yet another transformation: becoming a mainstream band. The album produced three Billboard Hot 100 hits; the most important was “Just Like Heaven,” the band’s highest-charting hit to date and first entry into the top 40.

AllMusic.com’s Ned Ragget called the song “an undisputed ‘80s classic” AM-JH that is “instantly memorable, sparkling with rough energy…it’s a perfect showcase for Robert Smith’s ear for wistful, romantic numbers.” AM-JH Smith was inspired by a trip to Beachy Head in southern England with his future wife, Mary Poole. WK-JH The video recreated many of the memories detailed in the lyrics. WK-JH

Musically, the original version bore some similarity to the Only One’s 1979 song “Another Girl, Another Planet.” Drummer Boris Williams increased the tempo of the song to give it a different feel. WK-JH Smith called it “the best pop song the Cure has ever done,” WK-JH telling his bandmates, “I’ll never write something this good again.” SF

Hot Hot Hot!!!

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Boris Williams, Porl Thompson, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 2/8/1988 (single), Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me (1987), Galore! (compilation, 1997)

B-Side: “Hey You!!!” (extended remix)

Peak: 65 BB, 82 CB, 11 CO, 45 UK, 30 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.29 video, 3.22 streaming

About the Song

“An operatic vocal quote from Charles Aznavour’s ‘She’ introduces The Cure’s full-blooded attempt at white-boy funk, which should be dreadfully embarrassing but gets over due to its proficient arrangement and knowing ridiculousness. The Nile Rodgers-styled guitars are satisfyingly nimble and the bass riff hints at Queen’s ‘Another One Bites the Dust’ as Robert provides a gurning, exaggerated vocal about…being struck by lightning?” MD-74

Lullaby

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Roger O’Donnell, Boris Williams

Released: 4/10/1989 (single), Disintegration (1989), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Babble,” “Out of Mind”

Peak: 74 BB, 57 CB, 23 MR, 5 UK, 33 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 105.70 video, 285.51 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

This was the lead single (at least in the UK) from Disintegration, The Cure’s most successful album. It was “accompanied by one of the creepiest videos of the age.” DT-274 The Cure “look back on their early reputation as a Gothic band and rewrite it as a horror movie.” DT-274

Fascination Street

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Boris Williams, Porl Thompson, Roger O’Donnell, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 4/18/1989 (single), Disintegration (1989), Galore! (compilation, 1997)

B-Side: “Babble,” “Out of Mind”

Peak: 46 BB, 74 CB, 24 AR, 17 MR, 12 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 22.93 video, 1.77 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

Here The Cure “prove that you only need one great riff to make a great song. Simon and Boris power through the same four-bar figure for its whole duration, with dynamic variations being provided by the interplay of guitar parts, keyboards, and, eventually, the vocal. Robert’s lyrics are oblique, alluding to some place or event that will lift the narrator and their partner out of a lull.” MD-84

Love Song

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Boris Williams, Porl Thompson, Roger O’Donnell, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 8/21/1989 (single), Disintegration (1989), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “2 Late,” “Fear of Ghosts”

Peak: 2 BB, 2 CB, 7 RR, 30 AR, 2 MR, 18 UK, 5 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 100.37 video, 471.33 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

This was The Cure’s biggest hit yet most of the band disliked the song and opposed it being a single. MD-82 “It’s fair to assume the band warmed to it over time.” MD-83 The song has since been covered by Tori Amos, Adele, and others.

“Robert saw so much promise in the music written by Simon that he chose it as the backdrop for his most heartfelt ode of love – a gift to his new bride.” MD-82 He said, “It’s the most upfront, true, frank and honest thing that I’ve ever sung.” MD-83

Pictures of You

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Porl Thompson, Roger O’Donnell, Boris Williams, Lol Tolhurst

Released: 3/19/1990 (single), Disintegration (1989), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Last Dance” (live), “Fascination Street” (live), “Prayers for Rain” (live), “Disintegration” (live)

Peak: 71 BB, 67 CB, 19 MR, 24 UK, 12 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 129.36 video, 19.89 streaming

About the Song

“A cornerstone track of Disintegration and, indeed, The Cure’s entire career, ‘Pictures of You’ is a stunning widescreen epic with a characteristically narrow focus.” MD-81 “Robert sings one of his most powerful odes to love and loss, an perfect encapsulation of The Cure’s lyrical and spiritual essence.” MD-81

Never Enough

The Cure

Writer(s): Simon Gallup, Robert Smith, Porl Thompson, Boris Williams

Released: 9/17/1990 (single), Mixed Up (1990), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Harold and Joe”

Peak: 72 BB, 72 CB, 33 AR, 13 MR, 13 UK, 22 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 2.49 video, 10.27 streaming

About the Song

When The Cure headed into the studio in June 1990 with new keyboardist Perry Bamonte, their intent was to record “an electronic-leaning EP.” <MC-89 Instead they produced this “blues-box rocker that must have had Porl beaming at the chance to stretch out. Guitars all over with not a keyboard in sight.” MD-89 It became “a band and fan favorite, no doubt due to its punchy demeanor and relatable lyric.” MD-90 It was the only new song featured on the 1990 remix collection Mixed Up.

High

The Cure

Writer(s): Boris Williams, Perry Bamonte, Simon Gallup, Robert Smith, Porl Thomspon

Released: 3/16/1992 (single), Wish (1992), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “This Twilight Garden,” “Play”

Peak: 42 BB, 33 CB, 22 RR, 42 AR, 14 MR, 8 UK, 33 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.90 video, 45.27 streaming

About the Song

This “joyous first single” MD-92 from Wish is “a bouncy confection spawned from a Simon demo called ‘Anniversary.’” MD-92 Robert said, “As soon as I heard it, I knew it had to be our next single…It was such an inspiring, upbeat piece of music; I wrote the words to it really fast…It’s just about stopping to think about what you’ve got rather than always wanting something more.” MD-92

The song was “inspired by a child called Dorothy, a friend’s daughter who thought she could fly and was given to saying things like ‘sky as a kite.’” MD-93

Friday I’m in Love

The Cure

Writer(s): Perry Bamonte, Boris Williams, Simon Gallup, Robert Smith, Porl Thompson

Released: 5/15/1992 (single), Wish (1992), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Halo,” “Scared As You”

Peak: 18 BB, 18 CB, 12 GR, 4 RR, 21 AR, 14 MR, 6 UK, 8 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 165.05 video, 1107.67 streaming

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

About the Song:

Robert said this is “a dumb pop song…but it’s quite excellent, actually, because it’s so absurd. It’s so out of character – very optimistic and really out there in happy land.” TB-254 He also said, “I could sit and write gloomy songs all day long, but I just don’t see the point.” TB-254

It was one of the band’s biggest pop hits thanks to its “irrepressibly happy mood” TB-254 and “Porl Thompson’s jangly guitar lines.” TB-254

A Letter to Elise

The Cure

Writer(s): Perry Bamonte, Boris Williams, Simon Gallup, Robert Smith, Porl Thompson

Released: 10/5/1992 (single), Wish (1992), Galore! (compilation, 1997)

B-Side: “The Big Hand,” “A Foolish Arrangement”

Peak: 2 MR, 28 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 13.98 video, 70.60 streaming

About the Song

“A Letter to Elise” is “a fetching semi-ballad dressed in jangling acoustic and 12-string guitars, adorned with tinkling keyboard melodies.” MD-95 It was “inspired by the character of Elisabeth in Cocteau’s Les Enfants Terrible,” according to Robert. He said, “It’s not actually about her, but she somehow got mixed up in my head with another Elise I was trying to write about and to.” MD-95

The 13th

The Cure

Writer(s): Perry Bamonte, Jason Cooper, Simon Gallup, Roger O’Donnell, Robert Smith

Released: 4/22/1996 (single), Wild Mood Swings (1996), Galore! (compilation, 1997)

B-Side: “It Used to Be Me,” “Ocean,” “Adonais”

Peak: 44 BB, 47 CB, 15 MR, 15 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.19 video, 2.67 streaming

About the Song

“After four years away from the charts, The Cure chose to reintroduce themselves in a typically obtuse way – the first single [from Wild Mood Swings] is a cracked, woozy mariachi number replete with exuberant brass and a highly mannered vocal about a Colombian club dancer.” MD-105 While “many thought the band had lost their minds” MD-105 this “is a fun romp entirely in keeping with The Cure’s reputation for whacked-out pop.” MD-105 “It’s a terribly entertaining song that shows they hadn’t let age and fame steal away their sense of humor.” MD-105

Mint Car

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Perry Bamonte, Jason Cooper, Roger O’Donnell

Released: 6/17/1996 (single), Wild Mood Swings (1996), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Home,” “Waiting,” “A Pink Dream”

Peak: 14 MR, 31 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 3.99 video, 23.11 streaming

About the Song

“Mint Car” is “an almost tropical pop bash about true happiness that rides along on a bold bass groove and some tasty lead guitar.” MD-106 It could have been the first single from Wild Mood Swings but “its resemblance in mood, if not music, to ‘Friday I’m in Love’ would have given listeners the impression they were back with more of the same.” MD-106 Even the videos were similar with “Mint Car” recalling “its constant costume changes and studio stage setting.” MD-106

Strange Attraction

The Cure

Writer(s): Perry Bamonte, Simon Gallup, Robert Smith, Jason Cooper

Recorded: 1995

Released: 10/9/1996 (single), Wild Mood Swings (1996), Galore! (compilation, 1997)

B-Side: “The 13th” (Feels Good Mix), “This Is a Lie” (Ambient Mix), “Gone!” (Critter Mix), “Strange Attraction” (Strange Mix)

Peak: 32 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.28 video, 2.63 streaming

About the Song

“The Hitchcockian swell of strings that opens this track is immediately revealed to be a misdirect, as ‘Strange Attraction’ is a bouncy, lightweight number with marimba keys supply the hooks. The intro string does foreshadow the lyrics, however, as Robert’s narrator receives glowing correspondence from a fan, then meets and falls for her, only for her to end things with another letter when he didn’t match up to what she’d imagined.” MD-105

Gone!

The Cure

Writer(s): Perry Bamonte, Jason Cooper, Simon Gallup, Roger O’Donnell, Robert Smith

Recorded: 1995

Released: 12/2/1996 (single), Wild Mood Swings (1996), Galore! (compilation, 1997)

B-Side: CD1: “The 13th (Feels Good Mix), “This Is a Lie” (Ambient Mix), “Strange Attraction” (Strange Mix); CD2: four mixes of “Gone!”

Peak: 60 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.80 video, 0.80 streaming

About the Song

This “critically reviled song” MD-107 was an “experiment in light-hearted genre-hopping.” MD-107 “Sassy brass, jazzy electric piano flourishes and a swinging beat provide a good-humored backdrop for Robert’s admonition to fight depression by getting out into the world.” MD-107 In hindsight, Robert said the song, originally called “Get Up, Get Out, and Get Gone!,” should have been left off the Wild Mood Swings album. He said it “was one that everyone was thinking was one step too far.” MD-107

Wrong Number

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith

Released: 11/17/1997 (single), Galore! (compilation, 1997), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: four additional mixes of “Wrong Number”

Peak: 64 BB, 8 MR, 62 UK, 31 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 0.06 video, 8.24 streaming

About the Song

This “started out as a song called ‘Lime Green’ or ‘A Thought,’ as its unrecognizable instrumental demo is titled on Greatest Hits Rarities.” MD-111 Robert reworked the song with Reeves Gabrels – then David Bowie’s guitarist – after they met at rehearsals for Bowie’s 50th birthday concert. MD-111 “The result is a nonsensical but charming dance track featuring just them and Jason’s drum loops, with a brief appearance from producer Mark Plati’s friend’s wife on the other end of the phone.” MD-111

Galore!: The Singles 1987-1997 (compilation)

The Cure

Recorded: 1985-1996

Released: October 28, 1997

Peak: 32 US, 37 UK, -- CN, 45 AU Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): 0.50 US, 0.06 UK, 0.60 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: goth rock

Rating:

3.980 out of 5.00 (average of 21 ratings)

Tracks:

(1) Why Can’t I Be You? (2) Catch (3) Just Like Heaven (4) Hot Hot Hot!!! (5) Lullaby (6) Fascination Street (7) Love Song (8) Pictures of You (9) Never Enough (10) Close to Me (11) High (12) Friday I’m in Love (13) A Letter to Elise (14) The 13th (15) Mint Car (16) Strange Attraction (17) Gone! (18) Wrong Number

Total Running Time: 72:47

About the Album:

This collection picks up where Standing on a Beach left off. The two serve as perfect companions, each covering a distinct era of Cure. The first set captures the band as one of the premiere bands of college rock in the early ‘80s while the second set offers a snapshot of the band achieving mainstream popularity.

Cut Here

The Cure

Writer(s): Perry Bamonte, Jason Cooper, Simon Gallup, Roger O’Donnell, Robert Smith

Released: 10/29/2001 (single), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Signal to Noise”

Peak: 54 UK Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 4.56 video, 14.17 streaming

About the Song

“Cut Here” is “a rumination on the loss of Robert’s friend Billy Mackenzie from The Associates, who ended his own life in 1997.” MD-119 “Though the song is a sad one, it came as a relief to fans who feared that Robert had finally put the band to bed.” MD-119 “Based on a bouncing beat and distinctive Fender VI lines with keyboard flourishes from Roger, it serves as a reminder of The Cure’s knack for idiosyncratic pop.” MD-119

Just Say Yes

The Cure

Writer(s): Robert Smith, Simon Gallup, Perry Bamonte, Jason Cooper, Roger O’Donnell

Released: 4/18/2001 (single), Greatest Hits (compilation, 2001)

B-Side: “Just Say Yes” (acoustic version)

Peak: -- Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): --

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 1.98 video, 5.52 streaming

About the Song

This was recording during the sessions for 2000’s Bloodflowers. It “was never going to make the grade – not only is its message of positivity diametrically opposed to the album’s mood, but the first version, as heard on Greatest Hits Rarities, is notably lacking in pep. Successfully recut for Greatest Hits, it grew into an effervescent single that features a guest vocal by Republica’s Saffron. The track sounds like it was recorded a decade too late, coming off like a poppier Prima Scream or Stone Roses..” MD-120

Greatest Hits (compilation)

The Cure

Recorded: 1979-2001

Released: November 7, 2001

Peak: 58 US, 19 UK, -- CN, 27 AU, 11 DF Click for codes to charts.

Sales (in millions): -- US, 1.20 UK, 2.20 world (includes US and UK)

Genre: goth rock

Rating:

4.261 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

Awards:

(Click on award to learn more).

Tracks:

(1) Boys Don’t Cry (2) A Forest (3) Let’s Go to Bed (4) The Love Cats (5) The Caterpillar (6) In Between Days (7) Close to Me (8) Why Can’t I Be You? (9) Just Like Heaven (10) Lullaby (11) Love Song (12) Pictures of You (13) Never Enough (14) High (15) Friday I’m in Love (16) Mint Car (17) Wrong Number (18) Cut Here (19) Just Say Yes

Total Running Time: 68:08

About the Album:

This set does offer two previously unreleased songs but otherwise everything here is covered on Standing on a Beach and Galore! Those two compilations offer a more complete picture of The Cure than this single-disc anthology.

Resources/References:

Related DMDB Links:

First posted 10/29/2026; last updated 11/1/2026.

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